Liam Delap netted his fourth Premier League goal but Town were comfortably beaten 4-1 by West Ham United on their first visit to the London Stadium. The Hammers went in front in the 49th second via Michail Antonio but the Blues hit back on six through Delap. However, the home side finished the first half strongly and restored their lead through Mohammed Kudus, then four minutes after the restart Jarrod Bowen made it 3-1 and on 69 Lucas Paqueta added the fourth as the Irons picked up home points for the first time this season.

Ben Johnson returned to the Town XI along with Wes Burns in an otherwise unchanged side.

Johnson came in at right-back with Axel Tuanzebe having picked up a knock, while Burns was on the right of the three behind striker Liam Delap with Chiedozie Ogbene on the bench.

Harry Clarke was among the subs for the first time this season having undergone double achilles surgery in the summer.

West Ham were unchanged from the team which drew 1-1 at Brentford last week with former Blues left-back Aaron Cresswell on the bench.

The game was only 49 seconds old when the home side took the lead. Kalvin Phillips, back at the club where he made a frustrating loan spell in the second half of last season, made a poor pass in midfield and lost possession.

Jacob Greaves slid in to try to win it back but lost out and was left out of position as the Hammers broke down the right, Jarrod Bowen crossing low for Antonio, who turned into the net.

West Ham are the fourth club Antonio has found the net with against Town, following Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton.

However, the home side’s lead lasted only five minutes. A corner from the right flicked off Dara O’Shea’s head at the near post and it reached Delap at the back of the box. The striker battled his way past Paqueta before hitting a shot on the turn which Alphonse Areola in the West Ham goal could only palm weakly into the roof of his net.

The Town fans at the other end of the ground delightedly celebrated the frontman’s fourth goal in only his seventh Premier League start.

Following the early goals, the game settled down with the Irons seeing most of the ball, Bowen hitting a shot which was blocked by Greaves and then Kudus an effort which Aro Muric claimed comfortably, but with the Blues also having spells on the ball.

On 26, with the game for a period being mainly played mostly in the Hammers’ half, Phillips hit a 25-yard shot only just over Areola’s crossbar.

Five minutes later, Jack Clarke was shown the game’s first yellow card for a late challenge on Tomas Soucek in the centre circle after the former Sunderland man’s first touch had let him down.

The Hammers began to look more threatening and on 34 Aaron Wan-Bissaka cut back from the right and Soucek’s shot was bundled behind.

Two minutes later, Delap broke away on the left into the area and went to ground under the attention of Jean-Clair Todibo as he moved into the area but made little protest towards referee Anthony Taylor. The ball subsequently reached Burns, who was fouled.

From the free-kick, Leif Davis’s ball found Greaves, who headed across the face of goal and wide. A first Town goal can’t be too far away for the centre-half.

On 38, Kudus struck the woodwork with a header with Muric in no-man’s land as the ball came over from the right but the linesman raised his flag.

There was a huge scare for Town from the goal-kick with skipper Morsy giving the ball away to Paqueta inside the area from Muric’s pass. The Brazilian international squared to Soucek and O’Shea blocked on the line.

But the home fans didn’t have to wait too much longer for their second goal of the afternoon.

As the half moved into its final scheduled minute, Emerson stood up a cross from the left, Antonio headed powerfully against the bar, the ball bouncing off the line and out, and Kudus nodding home from a couple of feet.

In three additional minutes, Paqueta looped an effort well over from not far outside the box, then a corner from the left avoided everyone in the box and reached Wan-Bissaka outside the box to the right, from where the former Manchester United man struck a low effort which Muric did well to save and hold onto.

That was the last action of a half in which the Blues had shown character with the way they reacted to conceding the very early goal, Delap netting another memorable strike. But both sides will feel they should have defending the two goals much better.

From there, the Blues settled into the game and had brief spells on top but with Phillips’s shot over and Greaves’s header their best chances, while Town were often guilty of giving the ball away too easily.

As the break neared, the Hammers began to put the Blues under more pressure and could have restored their lead prior to Kudus’s header.

The result was all but confirmed four minutes after the restart when the Hammers went 3-1 in front.

Muric miscontrolled a back-pass from Johnson and was forced to slide in and tackle Antonio. The ball reached Bowen on the right, midway inside the Town half, and the former Hull winger brought the ball into the area and easily past Phillips, before hitting a low shot across Muric and inside the post.

Again, Town played a significant role in their own downfall with the goal Bowen’s fourth in five games against the Blues, three for the Tigers.

Having secured a two-goal lead, the Hammers were comfortable and on the hour Bowen played a clever ball for Kudus to chase into the area. The Ghanaian flicked towards goal but Muric made a good stop down to his right.

Having gone through a frustrated spell, the Blues created their first chance of the second half in the 65th minute, Burns crossing from the right to Delap, whose header was well saved down to his right by Areola.

However, four minutes later, West Ham made it 4-1. Bowen brought the ball in from the right and played an inch-perfect low ball across the six-yard box to Paqueta, who tapped into the net from close range.

Following the goal, West Ham swapped Guido Rodriguez and Antonio for Edson Alvarez and Carlos Soler.

Town made their first changes on 74, Sammie Szmodics, Chiedozie Ogbene and Jack Taylor replacing Clarke, Burns and Phillips, who smiled ruefully as his withdrawal prompted boos from his old supporters.

Four minutes later, with West Ham looking for more goals, Kudus hit a low effort to Muric’s right, the keeper saving well.

With seven minutes remaining, ahead of a corner, the Hammers switched Emerson for ex-Blues left-back Cresswell and Paqueta for Crysencio Summerville, while Town replaced Delap and Omari Hutchinson for George Hirst and Conor Chaplin. From the flag-kick, the ball was cleared to Soler, who blazed over from the edge of the box.

In the 86th minute West Ham made another change, Kudus making way for Luis Guilherme.

A minute later, Town probably should have pulled a goal back. Chaplin cleverly turned a Davis pass to Szmodics inside the box and the Irish international took a touch before hitting his shot across the face and wide when he will feel he should have hit the target.

As the game moved into four minutes of injury time, Cresswell curled a 25-yard free-kick well over the bar.

The third goal soon after the break effectively ended the game as a contest, although Delap’s header which Areola saved might have given the Blues something to build on had it gone in.

Nevertheless, it was the most disappointing afternoon of the season so far for Town, their previous two defeats having come against Liverpool and Manchester City.

Defensive solidity had been a hallmark of the four draws which followed those defeats but on this occasion the Blues made far too many errors at the back.

And at the other end, there wasn’t too much for the Town fans to shout about, Delap’s excellent goal aside, with too little made of opportunities going forward, althought Greaves might have hit the target with his header, Szmodics will feel he should have taken his late chance and Areola saved well from Delap in the second half.

The result sees the Blues drop to 17th with 16th-placed Everton, who host Newcastle this evening, the next visitors to Portman Road in a fortnight after the international break.

West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson (Cresswell 83), Rodriguez (Alvarez 70), Soucek, Paqueta (Summerville 83), Kudus (Guilherme 86), Bowen (c), Antonio (Soler 70). Unused: Fabianski, Coufal, Mavropanos, Ings.

Town: Muric, Johnson, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis, Morsy (c), Phillips (Taylor 74), Burns (Ogbene 74), Hutchinson, J Clarke (Szmodics 74), Delap. Unused: Walton, H Clarke, Woolfenden, Townsend. Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire). VAR: Darren England (Doncaster). Att: 62,467.

Photo: Action Images via Reuters

JimmyP45 added 07:16 - Oct 6 Far too many mistakes and errors at the back. Any team that defends like that will get relegated. Hopefully a lot to learn and improve on.
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BlueRuin69 added 09:10 - Oct 6 I thought Ben Johnson looked poor in pre season, he seems to lack aggression, Muric is poor and we all know it. Just think we fell 8nto that common trap of promoted sides of making g too many changes.
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atty added 09:33 - Oct 6 Wasn’t at the game so can’t add to what has already been said above. That said l just have to agree with the comments that Omari is not a No.10. That position requires real physical strength, shielding the ball when receiving it, seeing the pass ahead, playing the one/twos, the,ink between midfield and the no.9. I recall Omari playing no.10 a couple of times last season and he struggled. He’s a right winger imo, but does he have the ability to work defensively with the right back when required?

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DannyITFC added 10:34 - Oct 6 I felt this result was coming at some point (being battered by a lower league team) due to our weakness at the back particularly playing out so recklessly. Muric is like David James (has a fantastic save on him but also a calamity)….. I felt much calmer with Hladky in goal and even Walton (who did nothing wrong against Liverpool but I have no confidence in Muric. I think he’s a huge mistake of a signing and one who could cost us relegation if he continues on this path. In the positives I thought Davis and Delap look like proper premier league players, however how quiet was Hutchinson? Surely it’s time to give Smodzics a go in there? Burns just did not get going either and as for Ben Johnson oh dear….. maybe Harry Clarke should be given a chance at RB at least he gives 100%. Lose against Everton and we are in trouble, hopefully KM can turn this around.

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DannyITFC added 10:34 - Oct 6 I felt this result was coming at some point (being battered by a lower league team) due to our weakness at the back particularly playing out so recklessly. Muric is like David James (has a fantastic save on him but also a calamity)….. I felt much calmer with Hladky in goal and even Walton (who did nothing wrong against Liverpool but I have no confidence in Muric. I think he’s a huge mistake of a signing and one who could cost us relegation if he continues on this path. In the positives I thought Davis and Delap look like proper premier league players, however how quiet was Hutchinson? Surely it’s time to give Smodzics a go in there? Burns just did not get going either and as for Ben Johnson oh dear….. maybe Harry Clarke should be given a chance at RB at least he gives 100%. Lose against Everton and we are in trouble, hopefully KM can turn this around.

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wedgieblue added 10:44 - Oct 6 We’re going to have days like this in this league, it’s brutal…. 4 good performances prior and a bad day at the office. What I would say is I agree that there were some players who were noticeably below par… our right side was poor and the left not the penetration that we’re normally used to. So credit should go to West Ham for that. It’s all about the reaction now. Everton were good against Newcastle, so it’s not going to be an easy assignment as some people are thinking, as was West Ham….

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Linkboy13 added 11:08 - Oct 6 The worst thing about Saturday's game was the team spirit built up under McKenna was non existent. Perhaps our rise to the Premier league has been achieved to quickly. To try and build a premier league team from scratch is not possible even for a great manager like McKenna especially as the players we are buying are good championship standard. If we are going to stay up we will have to rely on our home form.

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martin587 added 13:03 - Oct 6 I’ve not missed an away game yet this season so yesterdays was a good guide to see how far we have progressed away from home.I have to be critical as after seven games we should be showing signings of imprisonment but not this one.I was surprised at the lack of concentration in defence.The marking and bad passing was to say the least not good.There appeared to be a total lack of understanding and hesitation from the keeper (still not sure if he’s any improvement on Walton).Midfield was way off the mark and not up to our usual standard.Hutchinson seemed lost in his current position and Clark struggled a lot. The only players to stand out for me were Morsey and the brilliant Delap. I see it as a blip and learning curve which I’m sure the Boss will put right in the coming weeks so not a major problem just yet.Axel was a massive miss as his solid performances have been a great asset this season. Onwards and upwards but things must improve soon with two very important games on the horizon.

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ChrisFelix added 13:15 - Oct 6 I hope this game is our Elland Road from last season. Also away from home our midfield can easily get over run putting pressure on the defence. Maybe we should play an additional player in this area
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Theipswich added 13:58 - Oct 6 I think Saturday was a real cold shower day and we were outclassed by terrible terrible defending...we need to be awake from the first second of each half..very amateurish defending. Burns and Johnson seem to be out of their depth or in Burns' case, he needs to believe he can play at this level. Delap was totally alone up front and we need to play with two strong attackers..we gave West Ham too much initiative and could have won if we had held our nerve till half time. Need to go back to basics otherwise a long hard slog awaits...

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Cakeman added 14:04 - Oct 6 The away games will not determine our season and any point we get on the road this season will be a bonus. We must get some home wins very soon though but truthfully I don’t see many of them coming. It is easy to criticise after the event but for the life of me I never saw the necessity in signing so many players in the Summer. Most of which are no better than what we had already. Woolfenden and Burgess must be disappointed by not getting a fair chance. The same applies for Walton. I really hoped the lads who took us up would at least be given a fair crack of the whip but in some cases that just hasn’t been the case in my eyes. January’s transfer window could be interesting but throwing money at it is not the answer. Please give some of our longer serving players a go, even if only for a few games if it doesn’t work out.

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papashango87 added 14:49 - Oct 6 Everyone who loves the club is hurt when we lose and it spoils the weekend but some of these comments are deluded. McKenna hasn’t destroyed any team spirit by signing players, the players he let go were fringe at best, most of which were moaned about last season by the same people who are saying they should have been kept this season. We went from league 1 to premier league in 2 seasons which meant more signings were needed to get the squad up to standard. There’s always more comments on here when we lose which is the sad thing, blueboy and Linkboy posting 4 or 5 times each, loving it! I’m not sure if you are just miserable or do it to try and wind people up by saying stupid things

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GetWelwyn added 15:03 - Oct 6 Don't think Omari is ready for number 10 just yet, I think we need to move him to the right and bring Chaplin back in. He links better with Burns too. We had several occasions last year when Hladky got us into trouble with the short ball playing out from the back but we usually got away with it. Muric needs to know when he can do it and when not. Third goal was a nightmare back pass from Johnson from which we never recovered. Perhaps Harry Clarke would be a better option if Axel is going to be out for a while

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RobsonWark added 15:17 - Oct 6 papas, No one will argue with you that the players we let go were sub-standard for the Championship let alone PL. The players that got us promoted should have been given a chance to prove themselves. They had played together in so may games and knew each others strengths and weaknesses. That's how you build a team - by playing week in week out with each other. We have too many new faces starting matches which means we are not a team, just 11 individuals on the pitch. As for Muric - BIG BIG mistake signing him. I'm positive we would have more points on the board if Walton had of kept his place in goal after the Liverpool match.

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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 16:01 - Oct 6 Could Woolfie play RB, or is that a ridiculous idea?
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blueboy1981 added 22:15 - Oct 6 Whatever - we’ll reflect on things in May and not now, but at this moment it does look as if some decisions made over some players are proving questionable. Let’s hope such decisions prove justified more by then, than perhaps currently so.
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aas1010 added 00:01 - Oct 7 Drop music bring back Walton . Music flaffs about quiet a lot
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shakytown added 00:01 - Oct 7 We have had 7 games in the Premier league and are still on a big learning curve. Bad day today but we will learn from it. Patience everyone!!!!!!
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aas1010 added 00:05 - Oct 7 Sorry muric
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armchaircritic59 added 00:49 - Oct 7 A point of view from someone who no longer attends matches largely for health reasons, which is why I never comment on individual or team performances apart from maybe any I see on TV, and even that doesn't give you the full picture you get at the match. I go back all the way to 1962 for my first match, so I did see a few! I came in here last week after the Aston Villa performance, to see many very positive comments, suggestions of mid table or even higher. Now after West Ham, it's all a disaster and relegation looms. What I'm asking for guys and girls, is a bit of perspective, and not an overreaction to one good or one poor performance. What the club has achieved over the past two seasons is at least a minor miracle, and now they need everyone's backing like never before. On the mention of the upcoming match against Everton, after the break. I did see the complete match on tv (well my laptop!), against Newcastle. My take on that is if Newcastle were able to field a recognised striker they'd have won with ease. However a warning. It seems from comments from KM and others after the West Ham match, we had problems dealing with the more direct nature of their play and longer balls. Expect a whole lot of that from our next opponents! Whoever turns out to be our central defensive pairing against them, need to be ready this time!

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Gazelle added 07:32 - Oct 7 I seem to remember going 7 matches without a win last season being well beaten by West Brom and Leeds…0-4…in that time.
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philpott2 added 08:31 - Oct 7 Well I really thought we could get a result at West Ham. And we appear to have had a few chances, some good goalkeeping against us whilst Muric was good in part only. Feels like Hladky would be making some of the required saves whilst being much better with his feet (the unknown is whether that would still have been the case with three new players in our defence). For me the biggest issue is we don't seem to battle, to make a tackle generally, never mind once we lose the ball.....there were way too many occasions that we were running alongside or even behind their attacking players, and halfheartedly dangle a leg at a pass.....Philips and Burns especially (look at where Wes Burns is for their final goal, with West Ham bodies going at the far post he is way behind play, jogging and arrives after the ball is in the net....he should be busting a gut to get there. Happened a number of times. If Greaves scores to make it 2-2 then who knows, he should have, but if we keep giving the ball away so cheaply and don't work back with some sort of intent then we are going to suffer this scoreline a few more times. We definitely had some opportunities, but missing them is nothing new with the same amount of wastefulness over the last couple of seasons, we just created way more chances against much weaker opponents than what we are facing in the Premier League. No team is rubbish in this league, its just that some are good, some better and others very good.... organisation and belief is obviously key......so we need to work harder, take our chances and defend with our lives, then we have a chance! Simples

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The_Prof added 09:24 - Oct 7 There are aspects of our defensive play that really worry me, not just in this game but in several other matches up till now as well. Firstly, we really don't seem capable of stopping crosses coming in from our left; Leif is everyone's hero, but he doesn't close down quick enough in my opinion. He's a great player going forward, but we have to stop the constant stream of crosses from that side. Secondly, neither of the centre-backs attack the ball when they should do? I am a big fan of Wolfenden and for all his supposed weaknesses, he cuts out a lot of balls into the box. Harry Clarke has similar attributes, and if his legs are now fully functional, his spirit alone makes him valuable. It was far too easy for WHU on too many occasions today to just wander into our goal-area unchallenged, and similar things have happened in previous games. Thirdly, lack of dynamism in midfield. When we were relegated from the Championship it was a feature of the season that opponents could wander through our midfield at will, and I think we need better legs and more physicality in that department. I've been impressed with Taylor; give him a chance. Delap looks to be the pick of the summer signings, but he needs someone to work near to him. Omari has been a bit of a let-down so far this season, but I agree that his best position is wide right. Szmodics through the middle seems a better bet to me. Let's get the team spirit back; remember the Burley days and learn the lesson.

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planetblue_2011 added 09:56 - Oct 7 That was an awful game after 30 mins, Westham were a lot better, end of. Mckenna has to look at some of the old faithfuls again, Bring back Chaplin, Burgess, Woofy, Luongo or Taylor & play Szmodics! he scores goals…. Hope Tuanzebe is back for Everton too. We have a big enough squad to regroup again & sort it out. Give some of the other players a chance who will play for the shirt!!!

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KMcBlue added 10:26 - Oct 7 In terms of physicality we are very much up against it. WH, Villa, Fulham players in particular are MASSIVE. Big, agile units. Like rugby players. We look minute in comparison...
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